“Set up the air conditioner, water heater, and bed. I’ll go buy rice and vegetables and come back to cook.”
After finishing her plan, Song Kening said this to Lu Zhiyu.
Lu Zhiyu was putting the cap back on his mineral water bottle. He looked up at her and replied calmly,
“Mm.”
Song Kening grabbed her phone and headed out.
As she went downstairs, she calculated the money in her head.
She had just spent 500 yuan, leaving a little over 1,300 yuan in her WeChat balance.
From now on, she had to spend every cent carefully. Even one yuan had to be divided into ten ten-cent pieces.
There was a two-yuan shop at the entrance of the alley, with a loudspeaker repeatedly announcing:
“Everything is two yuan! Every item is only two yuan!”
Song Kening went inside, picked up a plastic basket, and began choosing things.
Two plates, two bowls, two pairs of chopsticks, a spatula, a ladle, a cutting board, a kitchen knife, a wash basin, a bag of laundry detergent, a pair of slippers for each of them, a broom, a mop, a trash can, trash bags, and other necessities.
Only after getting everything she needed did she happily go to pay.
Carrying two large bags, Song Kening walked to a nearby affordable fresh-food supermarket.
It was the busiest time of the evening, with all kinds of workers stopping by to buy groceries after work.
She pushed a shopping cart straight toward the meat section and immediately spotted a meaty pork bone.
“Boss, how much are the pork bones?”
“Ten yuan per jin.”
She picked out the meatiest one.
“I’ll take this one.”
The owner weighed it.
“Want me to chop it up?”
“No, no!” Song Kening quickly waved her hand. “I’ll stew it whole. It’ll taste better.”
After taking the packaged pork bone, she noticed some chunks of white fatty pork nearby, packed in large transparent bags and priced at five yuan a bag.
Bottled cooking oil was too expensive. Rendering lard would be much more economical, so she put a bag into the cart.
Then she went to the vegetable section.
Water spinach was only one yuan a bunch, so Song Kening immediately took one.
She also picked up a potato and an ear of corn.
Passing the eggs, she saw a tray of Guizhou eggs.
Thirty eggs for only 13.9 yuan.
They weren’t authentic free-range farm eggs, but the price was excellent. One tray would be enough to last more than half a month.
Just as she picked up a tray, an auntie beside her leaned over and whispered,
“I’ve bought these eggs several times. They taste especially good when fried.”
Song Kening smiled gratefully.
“Then I’ll take them with confidence.”
She put the eggs into the cart and checked everything again.
Pork bones, fatty pork, potato, water spinach, corn, ginger, garlic, rice, eggs, salt, cooking oil, soy sauce, vinegar…
Everything was there.
At checkout, the cashier announced,
“58.50 yuan.”
There were too many things to carry, so Song Kening asked somewhat awkwardly,
“Ma’am, I live in the alley right ahead. Could I borrow the shopping cart and bring it back? I’ll return it within ten minutes.”
The cashier saw that she already had two large bags and would clearly struggle to carry everything.
She nodded.
“Sure. Just leave your phone number here and tell us when you bring it back.”
“Thank you!”
Song Kening pushed the shopping cart back toward the alley.
The wheels rattled loudly over the uneven concrete road.
When she reached the apartment building, she parked the cart downstairs and had to make two trips.
By the time she reached the third floor on the first trip, she was already exhausted.
“I’m dead tired!”
The door was open.
The bed had already been assembled, with the bunk bed placed against the wall and the computer desk set up as well.
Lu Zhiyu had already taken off his shirt.
He was shirtless, his broad, firm shoulders and back showing sharp, powerful lines.
A layer of sweat covered his wheat-colored skin, trickling down his raised spine and taut waist. His chest rose and fell slightly with each breath, every inch of his body radiating strength.
His damp bangs clung to his forehead.
His sharp jawline was accentuated by the sweat running down from his neck and over his Adam’s apple.
He was lifting an air-conditioning outdoor unit weighing more than thirty kilograms onto a metal rack by himself.
The muscles in his arms were taut, sweat running down his forearms.
His whole body seemed to radiate heat.
He didn’t look embarrassed or exhausted at all.
Instead, there was something wild and masculine about him.
Song Kening stared at him.
An image from that night suddenly flashed through her mind.
Her face immediately grew hot, and she quickly looked away.
“I’m back.”
She placed the things she was carrying on the floor.
Without turning around, Lu Zhiyu simply gave a deep,
“Mm.”
After returning the shopping cart, Song Kening went back upstairs and began sorting everything.
First, she washed the pork bones and removed the lean meat.
She blanched the bones in cold water until the blood and foam rose to the surface, then took them out and rinsed them clean.
Next, she brought out the glass electric health kettle.
She put the pork bones, sliced corn, and ginger slices inside, added enough water to cover everything, and pressed the soup-making function.
The kettle could both make soup and boil water.
It was incredibly convenient.
She also started cooking rice in the rice cooker.
Then she dealt with the bag of fatty pork.
She washed each piece, cut them into chunks, and slowly rendered them over low heat.
There was no air conditioner in the kitchen, and no breeze came through the window.
Standing in front of the stove, Song Kening’s forehead quickly became covered in sweat.
Sweat ran down her cheeks, and damp strands of hair stuck to her neck.
She casually wiped her forehead with her sleeve and continued stirring the pork fat.
The fat slowly melted.
Crackle, sizzle…
The pieces gradually turned golden brown and became crispy pork cracklings.
At that moment, Lu Zhiyu was about to enter the bathroom to install the water heater.
As he passed through the kitchen, the already cramped space felt even tighter.
He glanced at the pot of lard, then at the bowl of diced fatty pork.
His brows immediately furrowed.
“Cooking with lard isn’t healthy.”
Without looking up, Song Kening continued working.
“That’s just something experts hired by capitalists made up to sell cooking oil. My family has eaten lard our whole lives. We’re perfectly healthy.”
Lu Zhiyu looked at her, his expression suddenly changing.
“Your family?”
Song Kening’s hands abruptly stopped.
Oops.
She had said too much again.
She instinctively slapped her mouth and hurriedly explained,
“I mean… my family before I went to the orphanage. Not the family who adopted me later.”
After saying that, she quickly lowered her head and pretended to concentrate on rendering the lard.
Lu Zhiyu stared at her for several seconds.
He didn’t ask any more questions.
Instead, he turned and entered the bathroom to install the water heater.
Fortunately, there were already mounting holes in the wall, so installation was fairly easy.
Meanwhile, the lard was almost finished.
Golden pork cracklings floated on the surface, filling the kitchen with an irresistible aroma.
Song Kening used a slotted spoon to scoop out the cracklings and sprinkled a little salt over them.
She cut the lean meat from the pork bones into thin strips and marinated them with salt and ginger.
She peeled and shredded the potato.
Her knife skills weren’t particularly good, so the pieces were uneven, but that didn’t affect the taste.
She also cleaned and drained the water spinach.
By the time she finished, the soup had been simmering for almost an hour.
She lifted the lid.
The broth was milky white, filled with the rich aroma of meat and the sweetness of corn.
She tasted a little.
It was incredibly fresh and flavorful.
First, she stir-fried the shredded pork until it changed color and removed it from the pan.
Then she stir-fried the shredded potatoes over high heat, adding salt for seasoning.
Finally, she returned the pork to the pan and tossed everything together.
The potato-and-pork stir-fry was done.
The garlic water spinach was even simpler.
She heated the lard, sautéed the minced garlic until fragrant, added the vegetables, and stir-fried them quickly over high heat.
Once they were cooked, she added salt, tossed them a few more times, and transferred them to a plate.
By now, Song Kening was drenched in sweat.
She carried the dishes to the folding table, arranged the bowls and chopsticks, and called out,
“Dinner’s ready!”
Lu Zhiyu had just finished installing the water heater.
After washing his hands, he came over.
He looked at the two dishes and one soup on the table.
They were simple, but the aroma was incredibly appetizing.
After sitting down, Song Kening served him a generous bowl of rice.
Lu Zhiyu picked up some potato and pork and put it into his mouth.
Song Kening watched him nervously.
“How does it taste?”
He chewed twice and swallowed.
“It’s okay.”
To Song Kening, “it’s okay” basically meant it’s delicious.
She happily picked up her chopsticks and started eating too.
Lu Zhiyu hadn’t expected food cooked with lard to go so well with rice.
Or perhaps he was simply too hungry.
He looked up at Song Kening.
She was eating while fanning herself with one hand, her forehead covered in sweat.
He put down his chopsticks and picked up the air-conditioner remote.
Beep.
The air conditioner started.
Cool air slowly flowed through the room, immediately making it more comfortable.
Song Kening glanced at him but said nothing.
He had spent the entire afternoon doing heavy physical work.
It was only right that he enjoy some cool air.
Lu Zhiyu resumed eating.
One bowl.
Then another.
And another…
His appetite was astonishing.
Before long, he had eaten five bowls of rice, leaving the rice cooker completely empty.
Song Kening stared at the bowl of rice she had just filled for herself.
She knew they had both used up a lot of energy that day, so she had deliberately cooked extra rice.
She hadn’t expected it still wouldn’t be enough.
She couldn’t help asking,
“Aren’t you full? There’s no more rice. Do you want half of mine?”
Lu Zhiyu picked up his empty bowl as if to get more rice, then changed his mind and went to ladle some soup instead.
“No need. I’ll just have another bowl of soup.”
Song Kening smiled.
“Drink more. Pork bone soup is good for calcium.”
She paused before adding cheerfully,
“Later, after we finish eating, we’ll go buy some sleeping mats. We can also get two yuan’s worth of rice noodles and mix them with soy sauce.”
Lu Zhiyu said nothing.
He silently drank his soup, his thoughts unreadable.